Severus' mouth felt funny.
The first round of his treatment hadn't made much of a visible difference yet, but all of his teeth felt like they didn't quote fit his face anymore. It was distracting.
The old man, the sentimental fool, had sent Severus off with a pumpkin flavoured lollipop that would help numb his gums, and a note for his niece who worked at an apothecary at the other end of Diagon.
Apparently they had a cross-promotion deal going on, but Severus strongly suspected that the man was simply doing him a favour without being too patronizing about it.
The apothecary was down near Ollivander's, so Severus purchased what he could in his way there, purposefully leaving his books for last.
He carried the items he could manage, and reluctantly paid the delivery fee on anything too big or heavy to lug around, since he wasn't able to shrink or lighten anything on his own until school started, and he didn't trust Eileen to unshrink anything once he got home.
The apothecary was a familiar sight to Severus, as he had sold potions to them on the side as soon as he'd earned his mastery in his last life. He didn't recognize the old man's niece, though. She must have moved on before Severus had signed his contract with them.
He hoped her absence was so innocent. It was difficult to remember at times how close this world was to a bloody, deadly war.
The current calm was hypnotizingly deceptive, but Severus knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the storm was coming.
He handed the niece the note and smiled bashfully at her as she read it over.
She grinned at him and rolled her eyes dramatically. "I see you survived my uncle's pampering."
She reminded Severus of Tonks, minus the hair. She had just had a baby before he had died, hadn't she? The mutt's unholy offspring?
He wondered if they'd survived.
Not that it mattered now.
"He was very nice," Severus said.
"It seems you charmed him right good. He's asked me to give you the friends and family discount on whatever you need. So what'll it be, Hun?"
"I need soap, shampoo, and tooth cleanser for school."
"That's easy enough. Am I right in assuming that your hair is always a little greasy, even after you've washed it?"
Severus blushed despite himself and nodded. "My skin, too. It's always been like that, and I plan on working with potions as much as I can at school, and I've heard that can make it worse."
"That it can. Not to worry, though, Hun. We've got specialty product that can clear that right up for you."
"I don't have much money," Severus hedged.
"My uncle explained your situation in his note. You're doing a great thing, helping out your Dad like you are. I'll give you a discount on top of our back-to-school sale price. It wouldn't do for a handsome young man like yourself to look less than his best."
Severus scowled at her.
She laughed. "Oh my, that's quite the look! You'll come to appreciate compliments from girls soon enough I'd wager."
Severus was more concerned about being mocked, lied to, or patronized than about the gender of the source of the ridicule, but he supposed that was just a pitfall of interacting with someone in appearance-based customer service.
"Would you let me style your hair for you?" she suddenly asked. "I won't charge you, and I'll show you how to do it yourself. What I have in mind is pretty easy, but I think it'll complement your face better than what you've got now."
"I don't want it short," Severus warned petulantly.
She laughed. "I won't cut it, I promise. I'll spell it clean, use a little product in it, free of charge, and then partially tie it back. Super simple."
"Why'd you do that for me?" Severus asked, wary of a catch.
She grinned at him and winked. "You have pretty hair. And pretty eyes that shouldn't be hidden behind it. And what can I say? I'm a girly girl and I like to play with hair. Will you let me?"
Severus made a show of his put-upon sigh, but acquiesced. He knew she was lying, but decided it didn't matter. If he happened to run into any of his future classmates, it would be good to look put together. His shabby muggle clothes were bad enough. He just hoped she didn't draw too much attention to his freakish eyes. Somehow allowing wizards to see his Nagini-eye was worse than when it was muggles.
He kept expecting someone to recognize the eye and accuse him of something nefarious.
The shop girl made quick work of his hair, and stuck to her word to keep it simple. She spelled his hair clean and massaged a little potion into his scalp, then redid his center part, allowed the hair of his widow's peak to fall loose, then pulled back a chunk of hair at each of his temples to the back of his head and into a simple braid.
It exposed his face in a way that made him self-conscious, but he had to admit that it was inline with what he remembered of the era's pureblood wizarding trends.
"There, see?" the girl said as she took a step back to admire her work. "This keeps the soft look of loose hair while emphasizing your cheekbones and letting your eyes be seen a bit better. Once my uncle's potions finish with your teeth, you'll need to work double-time to learn as many jinxes as you can to keep the girls at bay."
It looked better than he had expected, but Severus merely gave a curt nod. He didn't want to talk about his looks for longer than he had to, regardless of the circumstances.
"Alright, alright, I'll let you go now," she said with a laugh. "I'm sure you're excited to get the rest of your school supplies."
He payed her and left, relieved that the ordeal was over. He already had to resist the urge to comb his fingers through his hair to reform the curtain of hair over his face. He didn't like being this vulnerable and open.
A wave of excitement and dread crashed through him as he caught a glimpse of his next stop.
It was Ollivander's.
What if he didn't get his wand back?